The search has been on for many years now to find magic bullets which are effective as the 'cure' for breast cancer and other diseases. None has yet been found, despite billions of dollars spent on research looking for what are termed 'biological response modifiers'. Attempts to 'bottle' the substances we make in our bodies which play a part in fighting cancer, such as interferon, tumour-derived activator killer cells and interleukin, have all been disappointing, expensive and have had traumatic side-effects for patients.

But suppose that drugs being developed as biological response modifiers had shown successful results, without any side-effects at all. You can imagine the blaze of excitement which would have been generated by such 'miracle drugs' and the huge effort which the drug companies would devote to having them patented, licensed and publicized.

Well, guess what? Such substances have been found. Foods are now being described by scientists as 'chemopreventive' and it is acknowledged that certain foods have a pharmacological effect - items such as broccoli, soya, oriental mushrooms, garlic and live yoghurt. These foods have been shown to:

• support the immune system
• balance hormones and block their effect on breast tissue
• improve the liver's handling of carcinogens
• block cancer-promoting growth hormones
• stop damage to DNA and the excessive cell growth that leads to cancer

Powerful stuff indeed. The problem is that these foods and nutrients can't be patented and there is no money to be had in researching them, meaning that any research is motivated by academic interest rather than profit. Nevertheless, the fact that trials are taking place at all, with the considerable funding that is required is a strong indication of how seriously the role of nutrition in the prevention and treatment of breast cancer is being taken. Money is not thrown around for such research, and reputations are at stake; results which are meaningful are sought.

Throughout this article we will look at ways in which foods in our diet can lower the risk of, and promote recovery from, breast cancer by maximizing these pharmacological effects.

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Cancer